Wednesday, September 9, 2009

There's this.

My sister and I went and saw Maya Angelou speak at UNT a few years ago... maybe more than a few now, and, well, what do you say about that woman other than she's greatness? I taught this poem every year to my juniors. And, yes, it's simple, but I love it.

I would be very careful about who I picked to read it to the class. Always a girl for this. Always a girl with a some sass, a girl who would perform it. Always a girl who could carry it even if the class reacted to certain parts of it (and they always had a reaction to one line in particular). And the kind of girl I wanted, this kind of girl at Everman, would know Maya Angelou already, even if she didn't know this poem in particular, and would own the idea of "Still I Rise."

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